Coffee how is processed

How much of that cherry gets removed directly affects how your coffee will taste. We explore four different coffee processing methods, and how these methods make your final brewed coffee taste the way it does.

Coffee processing refers to the way that a seed is removed from a coffee cherry. Like any other pitted fruit, coffee cherries have a seed, the pulp, the mucilage around the seed, and a protective skin.

There are various methods to remove the seed from that cherry, and these methods affect the seed's flavor as it gets roasted and turned into a coffee bean—this flavor sticks around till the final brew. There are four different ways to process coffee, all of which change the sweetness, body, and acidity of brewed coffee. These methods are called natural process, washed process, wet hulled, and honey processed.

A natural processed coffee, also referred to as dry processed, is a traditional yet common way to process coffee today. Originating in Ethiopia, it involves drying out the entire freshly picked coffee cherry with the seed still inside.

To do this, coffee producers take all of the cherries and place them on drying beds in the sun. These beds either consist of patios or raised drying tables. Throughout the course of weeks, the coffees will ferment, as producers rake these cherries and rotate them to prevent spoiling. During this time, the sugars and mucilage that sticky substance that coats the seed will latch onto the seeds, which develop flavors and make them sweeter.

Once the coffee is dry, a machine separates the pulp and the skin from the seed. Natural coffees, like our Hawaii Kona Extra Fancy , result in heavy bodied cups of coffee, with deeper and complex tasting notes due to that time spent developing extra flavors. This development comes from the way that the seeds ferment differently, since they dry with the full cherry still intact.

Natural processed coffees can be difficult to replicate because of the inconsistencies in fermentation. Raking coffees by hand can change how often certain cherries are rotating in the fermentation period, and can get moldy if not cared for properly. However, when done right, these coffees can also be some of the sweetest you'll ever taste.

A natural processed coffee is juicy, syrupy, and well worth the extra effort. Unlike natural or dry processed coffees, washed processed coffees are called the opposite—wet processed! In this scenario, machines called depulpers remove the seeds from the cherries before drying them. However, it is not just any cherry that gets seed removal.

Although it requires the use of more equipment, the resulting product contains fewer defects and is more homogeneous. This sort is accomplished with screens and separation through floating in water. This is the primary difference between the wet and dry processing method. Step 3: The beans are separated from any remaining pulp through the use of vibrating screens. The beans are fermented in a holding tank for hours.

Step 5: The coffee beans are laid out on patios to dry in the sun during the day. The beans are rotated using rakes and collected every afternoon or if there is a threat of rain. The beans are dried in this manner until the moisture content in the beans has been reduced to the optimal level of This is a labor-intensive practice that typically takes between 8 and 15 days.

Step 6: The final step, called curing, is done right before the coffee is exported. The parchment is finally removed from the coffee beans, before the beans go through a series of cleaning, screening, sorting, and grading processes. Defective beans are sometimes removed by using red eye sorting. After this step is complete, the coffee beans are poured into large jute bags and prepared for transport.

The goal of natural processing is to dry the entire cherry in three steps: cleaning, drying, and hulling. In natural processing, this step, known as winnowing, is accomplished by hand with the help of a sieve.

Step 2: The cherries are spread out on huge concrete patios or on raised matted trestles to dry in the sun. To ensure even drying the beans are turned regularly as in natural processing.

The beans can be also mechanically dried, especially in regions where there isn't enough sunshine or excess humidity. The washed process leads to bright and acidic flavors in the cup. It's commonly highly appreciated among roasters and baristas due to increased complexity and cleaner cup profiles.

Many describe washed coffees to have white wine like flavors when compared to natural coffees. Many farmers or producers choose the washed process because properly done it reduces the risk of defects and it's more stable way to process coffee. On the other hand, it requires more water than other processing methods so it's more expensive for the farmers or producers.

The cherries are mechanically depulped but the depulping machines are set to leave a specific amount of flesh on the beans. After depulping the beans go straight to the drying tables or patios to dry. As there is less flesh surrounding the beans, the risk of over-fermentation is lower than in natural process but the overall sweetness and body in the cup are increased by the sugars in the remaining flesh. When well done, honey processed coffee have positive attributes from washed and natural coffees; sweetness of naturals and brightness of washed.

Honey processed coffee are quite often referred with colors; black, red, yellow and white honey. The color referrers to the amount of fruit flesh that is left on the bean after depulping. Black honeys, that are also black in color have the most flesh left on the bean and white honeys the are left only a bit of flesh. This of course has an effect on the flavor of the coffee; black honeys are like naturals and white honeys like washed coffees.

Similar to honey processing is pulped natural process which uses a bit more water and strips the beans fully during depulping. Pulped natural process is mainly used in Brazil. Anaerobic process is similar to washed process but the fermentation is done in fully sealed and oxygen deprived tanks.

The methods is still quite experimental but anaerobic processed coffees have often wild, unexpected and complex flavors. This method is similar to the anaerobic and it has been stolen from the winemaking world.

The biggest difference to anaerobic process is that the cherries are fermented as whole and the process breaks down the cell walls of the fruit flesh from inside out.